Subject:
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Re: End of Year Thoughts
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 29 Nov 2001 01:43:43 GMT
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Viewed:
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498 times
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Is Lego going in the right direction? I don't know. I like the Star Wars and
Harry Potter themes. Seems like there will be no new Arctic stuff. Is
Adventurers dead? Will we see more of LoM?; doubt it. I don't get Bionicle
but I guess many people like it. Jack Stone is a joke. The Legends and
classis sets are really great. I think Lego is creating too many new colors
too quickly. I still don't get that 'wow' feeling when had my first look at
catalog from the 80's until the mid '90's.
When I get that feeling back I will know Lego is on the right track.
In lugnet.general, John P. Henderson writes:
> Hi all,
> Okay I am about to ramble endlessly again. Everything I am about to spout
> forth is indeed my own uneducated opinion. Feel free to educate me on any
> points that are off-base (just do it nicely, pretty please)... Also, forgive
> me if .general is not quite the right place for this....
>
> ...So, I was just browsing around and happened across this:
>
> http://www.lego.com/eng/info/press/morepress.asp?CategoryId=4&id=171
>
> It was from this past spring, regarding the performance of TLC in 2000. In
> it, Poul Plougmann, Executive Vice President of TLC is quoted to acknowledge
> the previous year had losses due to lack of focus. He states that the new
> year would bring about a "refocus on our core business."
>
> Now that 2001 is drawing to a close, and LUGNETers everywhere scramble to
> clean up at the holiday sales and begin to look towards the new year's
> catalogues, I stop and ponder whether TLC has yet to live up to those
> earlier implications.
>
> Now, granted, a shift back into focus might well require some time -perhaps
> a year or more of development. That topic has been debated in the past.
> I've always been on the side of "give them the time they need to design and
> plan a good theme or subtheme." But one must ask how much time does such
> planning take?
>
> Afterall, we now have Harry Potter sets, which to my knowledge were planned
> around the release of the new HP movie. When did work on that movie begin
> anyway? Six months ago? A year ago? Five years ago? My bet is more
> recent than the latter. If they only began production of the film within,
> say, the last year, then contracts with TLC were also likely finalized in
> that time. Following that logic, if indeed it has been only a year, than
> the design and production of all these new sets (with new elements and new
> colors) must have been accomplished in that time. Just shows you how
> quickly TLC can act if they focus -focus their resources that is.
>
> So, back to the earlier thought, has TLC focused back towards their core
> business of playing well and learning through imagination?
>
> If we only use 2001 as an example, I would say, "Not quite."
>
> Plougmann states TLC's core product is "materials for open-ended play for
> children." The key part that strikes me is the *open-ended* part. I just
> fail to see how Star Wars sets and Harry Potter themes provide open-ended
> play -certainly not at the level that old Town sets did (I'm just using
> those as examples, I'm certain other past product lines would fit well
> also). The Jurassic Park, Spielburg, and Department 56 contracts seem to
> also lead further from that core spirit.
>
> True, some of those sets are darn cool. Some of them offer some
> interesting elements. And licensing is not new -think of the old Shell and
> Exxon gas stations for example. I'm not against having an occassional
> trademark thrown in here and there. But the question here is about focus on
> a core business idea...
>
> Meanwhile, TLC has continued expansion of non-toys (watches, pens,
> clothing), added to its Media line of software, and gone wild promoting
> Bionicle (in several media). They have expanded the Creator and Model
> series and added to the Train line. Some of this I like, some I can live
> without, but my point is that TLC is developing and marketing a growing
> variety of product lines, only a few of which (IMHO) meet the critia of
> "open-ended play."
>
> And the more TLC tries to do at once, the more spread out the resources,
> and in effect, the *less* focused they can be. Looking at the current
> product lines, and looking back over the past year or two, I do believe that
> there is less focus now than at the start of 2001.
>
> Glancing around other news releases, both at lego.com and here at LUGNET,
> it seems to me that many of them focus on how wonderful it is that the world
> famous TLC is joining forces with yet another non-toy company -Microsoft,
> Universal Music, Disney, Warner Brothers, etc., etc. I know how exciting it
> can be to have your hands on so many things. I know how expanding into so
> many genres can seem like an extension of the LEGO philosphy. But one must
> ask, are they trying to do too much at once?
>
> Now, let me finish by saying I in no way am trying to say TLC is corrupt or
> misled. Rather, I am just pointing out some things to ponder. After all,
> as an AFOL, all I really want is for LEGO products to always be the quality
> toys I have known them to be. I still have hope that they will return to
> focus on that core business we have all gathered here to enjoy.
>
> Now back to your regularly scheduled program....
>
> Cheers,
> -Hendo
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| (...) Indeed it is - to most of us, but I know several 3-4 year olds who love it (although possibly not more than any other police truck/fire truck toy, with a poseably action figure and some pull it apart and put it together functionality) and they (...) (23 years ago, 29-Nov-01, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| What Richie said. Jack Stone is not aimed at us, it's aimed at the crowd they made Town Jr. for. Now if they would give us back our Town Sr... (23 years ago, 29-Nov-01, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: End of Year Thoughts
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| (...) HP is ~OK~. Some of the SW sets were v. good (x-wing, snowspeeder, a-wing etc etc). Others were quite dull (any pod set, the technic CP30 and Stormtropper, and the Gungan Sub) (...) We have some of the smaller sets, these are quite good. We (...) (23 years ago, 29-Nov-01, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | End of Year Thoughts
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| Hi all, Okay I am about to ramble endlessly again. Everything I am about to spout forth is indeed my own uneducated opinion. Feel free to educate me on any points that are off-base (just do it nicely, pretty please)... Also, forgive me if .general (...) (23 years ago, 28-Nov-01, to lugnet.general) !
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